MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you haven't seen the new Irish movie, “An Cailín Ciúin" / "The Quiet Girl," do yourself a favor — choose a quiet evening, make a nice cup of tea, and fall through time to rural Ireland, 1981. They haven’t made a film like this in a very long time — not any I’ve watched.
You won’t find special effects or trendy topics in “The Quiet Girl.” Instead, you’ll experience breathtaking acting, stunning cinematography, and the simple and awful paradox of our shared human experience. It is possible, even common, to feel shattering loneliness in a place full of people and complete happiness and belonging in the loneliest of places.
The movie's quiet nuance and atmospheric feel are due in large part to the beauty of County Meath and Dublin, where it was exclusively filmed. Most of the dialogue is in Irish, which adds another dimension to its visceral authenticity. Last but not least, the film is rich in beautiful, understated symbolism. Indeed, our little heroine symbolically crosses into her version of Tír na nÓg (the Land of Youth or a paradise-like place) even as she draws a timid comparison to it.
Have a box of tissues at the ready. You will weep at the movie's heart-wrenching conclusion.
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